Pompeii
 

What is the best way to take a day trip from Rome to Pompeii? Should we take a tour from Rome or can we go on our own?

You can go on your own. Take the fast AV/ES train from Rome to Naples (1 hour). Change to the local commuter train to Pompeii Scavi (about 30 minutes). You catch this train downstairs in the Naples train station. The Pompeii Scavi station is across the street from the entrance to the ruins.

"Best" probably depends on your own personal travel style.

= Do you like to control the amount of time you have to visit a place?
= Do you feel comfortable negotiating train stations and making conections between modes of transportation?
= Are you on a budget?
If you answered "yes" to these, then you might prefer to go to Pompeii via public transportation on your own.

= Do you not mind being herded through a short intense visit to a place that might include a stop at a cameo factory?
= Do you prefer door-to-door service?
= Are you not so concerned about your budget?
If you answered "yes" to these, then you might prefer to go to Pompeii on a bus tour.

I answer yes to the above questions. We always try to go on our own and take a tour of the sight if we want. For example, when we wen to Versailles, or Giverny, etc. we took the train. The budget is not the deciding factor.

Then you should follow kybourbon's excellent instructions.

Just looked at the train schedule and although it lists trains it does not show them as available. I can't figure out why. I had no trouble purchasing tickets before on trentitalia.com. Want to go on May 28.

If the trains you saw are R trains, you can't buy them more than 7 days ahead. And there's no need to buy ahead since those trains have open seating.

By the way, be sure you are traveling between Rome and Naples on Trenitalia. The local commuter train (Circumvesuviana) that goes to to Pompeii Scavi, the ruins, is a different train system and will require buying a ticket whne you arrive in Naples. (Trenitalia goes to Pompei, the city, which is a station on the other side of town from the ruins.)

For those on a DIY outing, I'd like to think that this may be a help with the only slightly complicated part of the journey...

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-or-pompei.cfm

Give or take any slight differences on Saturdays, the trains available on the morning of May 28th (my birthday, thank you!) should look something like...

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/132196214

Peter

I agree with the do it yourself instructions. Once you get there a lot of people join a tour of the site itself but we did not and were very glad. If you do a little research ahead of time you have a better idea of what you are seeing. You might be interested in that section of my trip report, I list links to some excellent sites for info about Pompeii (including their own site that has their entire map and guide book online).

My report is at http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rful-weeks.cfm

Scroll down to the Aug 20 posting for the Pompeii info.

Thank you so much all for all your help. The conceirge at the hotel sent me info about a tour bur I am not interested in touring a cameo factory, or lunch with a group, or, I am sure, a stop in their "special shop".

Ellenem Are the trains to Naples also open seating? If so can we use the return ticket on any train? That way we don't have to commit to a time and can just go when we are ready.

The only trains between Rome and Naples that are open seating are the slowest ones, designated R for Regionale. You can get on any R train with your ticket.

All the other trains—AV, ES, IC . . .—have tickets for a particular seat on a particular train, so you must take that train.

How long should I allow from arrival to return train?

Hit post too soon. Does the commuter train require a ticket in advance?

You can't buy Circumvesuviana tickets in advance, however there's a ticket office alongside the barriers mentioned in my instructions!

Peter

I am surprised that nobody who has posted so far has asked you if you really, really want to do this and suggested you leave it for another trip. To see Pompeii properly takes a full day, it's very tiring and it will probably be hot. It took me until my 20th trip to Italy to fit it in, even though I'd previously visited Campania many times and stayed in Naples iself for a full week (and I did my degree in archaeology !) IMO the idea of doing it as a day trip from Rome is insane.

While I would probably not do Pompeii as day trip from Rome, I think "insane" is a strong word to use. Certainly, it will be a long exhausting day. Even with today's fast trains, by the time you add in all the connection times getting to and from stations in Rome, Naples, and Pompeii, you will probably spend at least 3-4 hours door to door in each direction, plus the hours walking in the sun. Only you can decide if that is reasonable for you. Some chose to visit the ruins of Ostia Antica on the outskirts of Rome because it is a much easier day trip.

Yes I have read about Ostia Antica as an alternative. We could leave Pompeii for a future trip when we do southern Italy. Thanks for all the help.

Any suggestions for Venice, Florence or Rome? Restaurants?

Call me insane. I loved my two day trips to Pompeii from Rome. And it didn't seem particularly rushed to me. Once I took the train as described here, and once I took a shuttle bus operated by Enjoy Rome. http://www.enjoyrome.com/walking/shu...r_pompeii.html

This is transportation only, and does not include stops at cameo factories or shops or lunch.